Drive Test: 2012 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo

Now for 2012, the Volkswagen Beetle is back, entirely redesigned, and even while it's still very much a specialized niche vehicle, it's one that a standard American male won't be uncomfortable to drive. The truth is, it's one that's rather enjoyable to drive. When the New Beetle arrived, back in 1998, it elicited waves of nostalgia from Baby Boomers who had held the old air-cooled Beetles, and enjoyed what they had come to represent. At the time of the New Beetle's release, it was just what they wanted-a car that took forward the iconic image but rolled on a modern front-wheel drive layout and packed lots of comforts and conveniences.

You might have a good laugh, but it can take only a passing glimpse to see that designers have tamped down the Beetle's cute-and-cuddly, feel-good side, instead concentrating back to the original air-cooled Beetles and then offering the brawnier side of the Bug. It's nearly the same size, yet all the lines are redrawn and the proportions are totally different. At first look, the new car looks a lot lower than the previous version. But the roofline is only a half-inch lower; it's the product of six inches of additional length and about three and a half inches more width.

Around the exterior of the car, we enjoy Volkswagen's use of shiny black as a feature in the Beetle Turbo-in the bold five-spoke trolley wheels, in the roof, as well as the side mirrors, back window and even rear spoiler. And while the faux-running boards serve to rob the Beetle of some interior room, it's great to see them also blacked out, and used as more of a unifying design cue.

Inside, the same glossy black comparison is echoed in the upper door trim along with in the steering wheel, the execution isn't nearly as solid inside however. The glossy carbon-fiber facing across the dash looked fine aesthetically from some angles, but it felt not satisfying in mixture with the hard materials of the rest of the dash. In addition, the Beetle gets a sort of simplified, dumbed-down screen interface compared to what's offered in the GTI, and we noticed that the matte-plastic materials around the climate, nave, and audio controls seemed prone to showing greasy fingerprints. In short, this is not a tweaked version of the previous New Beetle. Volkswagen has gone back to the original air-cooled Beetle and composed a new New Beetle-only this time they're only calling it the Beetle.

To know more information about 2012 Volkswagen Beetle and news about car parts, you can refer to carpart4u where you are able to get all details about auto parts, like car gauge, cooling system, car accessories as you want.